Hello from Badger and Lisa! We are a loving couple living in the Bay Area and we are excited to begin our family through adoption. We can only imagine how difficult a time this must be for you, and we very much admire your courage in choosing adoption for your child. We have great compassion for your situation, and we trust whatever you decide to do it will be the best choice for both you and your child. We hope this letter will tell you enough about our lives to encourage you to reach out to learn a bit more about us, and also share your hopes and dreams for your child.

How we met, where we live

Like a lot of modern couples, we met online. We had both been using okcupid for a long time with very little success but the first time we spoke we both knew we could have something special. We spent hours and hours that first month talking on the phone and telling each other all about our lives and our dreams. That was in 2013, when we were living in different cities. In 2014 we were married in a simple ceremony in a little park in NYC with just a few friends and family.  Today our home is in a sweet house in a sunny, tree- filled neighborhood in Oakland, California.Lisa is a professional chef and Badger is a software engineer. We share our home with our cats and many out of town guests. Our lives are full of great local fun, meaningful time with our family and friends and, as often as possible, trips to new places.  

Our interests

We love sharing new experiences together and make a point of traveling at least once a year, usually someplace neither of us has been, or else sharing a familiar place with each other, which always makes it feel new. Since we met we've been to London, Italy & Spain. We got married on the Highline (a really cool elevated park) in New York and we spent our honeymoon at Burninman (where we got engaged the year before). This year we went to Sayulita in Mexico for Lisa's birthday.

In our daily life Lisa's passion for food, travel and farmer's markets and  Badger's love of music, history and exercise make for a very happy life together. We both came to our relationship loving entertaining at home, meditation and flea markets so we do a lot of that together. We are constantly learning from each other and love spending time outside in parks, at the gym, at markets and at our local restaurants. No matter what we're doing, if we're out and about together, it always feels like an adventure. 

About Lisa, by Badger

Lisa grew up on the East Coast, primarily in and near New York City.  She got her love of travel from her parents and took her first trip with them  while she was still in diapers. Her parents are both from New York and she remembers exploring the Natural History Museum and the Lower East Side with both her parents from the time she was very young. Lisa's grandparents lived on the Lower East Side when they first came to the US, and both Lisa and her mom lived there during college so their roots there go very deep. Lisa's family wasn't religious in any way but they were always very involved in giving back to others whether through volunteering at school or making sure to give back to others when ever possible. Volunteering is still very important to Lisa and we try and make that a part of our life together on a regular basis. The first thing most people notice about Lisa is how warm, genuine and engaging she is. Travel fills her with a profound reverence and awe. She finds a deep joy in being a citizen of the world. I cannot wait to share the world with our child, and one of the best parts of that journey will be seeing Lisa lead the way.

About Badger, by Lisa

The first thing most people notice about Badger is his sense of humor. He's quick with a joke or a pun where ever we are and will always learn at least one funny thing to say to strangers when we travel. This all comes from his deep desire to make people smile. He has a remarkable ability to put people at ease and is particularly good with kids, animals and shy people. He thinks its because he makes people laugh but I think its because he has a genuine gentleness that is impossible to hide. I love being in the world with him for so many reasons but at the top of the list is how often I get to see the best in people because of Badger's way of being in the world. Badger's dad died when he was still a baby and he grew up with a single and mostly absent mom. He surrounds himself with wonderful people that he treats like family and I've been very blessed to have all of them as my "inlaws" and friends too.

Our family and friends

We are so blessed in our wonderful family, everyone is so excited to welcome a new child into the world, and they've all been incredibly supportive throughout our journey towards parenthood. Our friends are the people we travel with, have holidays with and who are, for all intents and purposes, the largest part of our family.  

Besides our extended friend family we have a close relationship with Badger’s  Great Aunt Muriel as well as his cousins Adam and Marc. We're also very close to Lisa's parents, Harvey and Judy. Tey come to visit at least twice a year and we go see them at least once a year wherever they happen to be; Lisa definitely got her travel bug from them and they're always on the move. We're also very lucky to have friends with kids and love spending time with them. We both love the holidays and make a pretty big deal about celebrating Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Passover with friends and family as often as we can.

Our parenting vision

Before we met we both knew we wanted to adopt. We feel very blessed to be aunt and uncle to a number of children in our community, and Lisa is a godmother. Parenting for us is most about providing an environment where a child can be their whole selves, in total safety, comfort and happiness. We think the most important thing we offer is open hearts and our commitment to being a consistent source of love, positivity, encouragement and support. We are so excited to be able to have these experiences with our own child. To watch him or her grow into an adult and to help nurture that experience. We want to share a wonderful life of reading, nature walks, travel, friends, family and community with our child. We want our child to attend schools where they'll feel supported in being themselves and will get a great education. Whatever our child's journey we're going to be there every step of the way.